A Vegan Christmas: Interview with Emma Jarvis

This weekend in Trondheim is the official start of the holiday season (though walking into many shops around town you might have thought it started weeks ago).

The List caught up with Emma Jarvis, founder of the Trondheim Vegan Fair, who are hosting their own Christmas Market this weekend at Verkstedhallen and Habitat. The market is free to enter and boasts a variety of shopping, eating, learning, and entertainment options.

How did the Trondheim Vegan Fair get started?

“I started it. I lived in Oslo for one year and really enjoyed the Oslo Vegetarfestival. When I moved up here and found nothing really going on in the same vein, I wanted to get something started.”

“This is the first time we’ve done a Christmas market, we have the festival in the spring which is more focused on practical stuff, where this event is more to celebrate the season and have fun.”

Why did you choose Veganism?

“I’ve been a vegan for about four years; since I went to university I was quite involved in the environmentalism stuff. So initially I came into it through that; that it’s more environmentally friendly to eat vegan.”

“But that’s not the thing with the vegan fair, not to be preachy. Its just about getting people to try different foods, inspire people. Take the cookery classes for instance where people can learn to cook great food that is also vegan.”

Why is the Vegan Fair important?

“I think that Trondheim has a lot of really cool cultural events, and this just adds to that diversity. Also, more and more people are choosing to eat less animal products like meat and cheese; Coop now has vegetarian day and Synnøve now has a vegan cheese.”

“It also provides an easy platform to teach and learn about veganism – helping people to think about how they can cook a meal differently or just enjoy different kinds of food.”

How would you convince someone to come to the Christmas Market?

“You get to try loads of awesome food, stuff that’s not normally in Trondheim. Like a vegan-friendly bakery from Oslo that are coming with cakes and vegan ice cream! Another company that makes artisan vegan cheese that is delicious.”

Photo: Furu Creamery

“It’s a fun place and a food festival where you can learn lots of stuff. Theres a workshop on how to have an environmentally friendly Christmas; the documentary that shows how people in Norway are shifting to more plant based diets, which is neat that it has a Norwegian context which will hopefully be much more relatable for Norwegians.”

“A mix of workshops in both Norwegian and English, its about 50/50 so it will be accessible for most people! The Market has super good vibes, and it’s free!”

There is an after party as well?

“Yes, at Habitat. The awards ceremony for things like the best vegan friendly restaurant, there will be different musicians that will be playing like Sivert Ericson and also Gibberish the improve comedy group, but its mostly about hanging out, eating pizza, and being social. It’s a party!”

Photo: LOS365

Don’t miss out on this unique and fun event this holiday season. Starting at 11:00 at Verkstedhallen, it will be a great way to spend a day out of the cold!